This is the most cases reported in 60 years when 6,613 cases were reported in 1950, and the highest incidence in 51 years when a rate of 16.1 cases/100,000 was reported in 1959.

154 (58%) of hospitalized cases were infants ❤ months of age, and 201 (75%) were infants <6 months of age.

153 (76%) of the hospitalized infants <6 months of age with known race and ethnicity were Hispanic.

10 deaths have been reported; 9 (90%) were Hispanic infants. Nine fatalities were infants <2 months of age at time of disease onset and had not received any doses of pertussis-containing vaccine;the 10th victim was an ex-28 week preemie that was 2 months of age and had received the first dose of DTaP only 15 days prior to disease onset.

Rates are highest in infants <6 months of age (317.2 cases/100,000), in children aged 7-9 years (46.8 cases/100,000) and children aged 6 months-6 years (38.4 cases/100,000)

The bad news keep on coming; the 10th baby, yet another 6-week-old, has succumbed to the whooping cough outbreak in California. All the babies who have died this year were too young to be fully immunized, so health officials are urging parents and caretakers to get booster shots to create a cocoon of immunity around vulnerable children. Our hearts and thoughts go to the families of these 10 innocent infants during these tragic times in their lives. We are very sorry for your loss.

“Infants are the most vulnerable and they can die from the disease,” said Dr. John Christenson, director of Pediatric Infectious Disease at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. “But teenagers and adults serve as the vectors for the disease, transmitting it to infants who have no immunity.”

This is the most cases reported in 60 years when 6,613 cases were reported in 1950, and the highest incidence in 51 years when a rate of 16.1 cases/100,000 was reported in 1959.

132 (59%) of hospitalized cases were infants ❤ months of age, and 167 (74%) were infants <6 months of age.

129 (77%) of the hospitalized infants <6 months of age with known race and ethnicity were Hispanic.

9 deaths have been reported; 8 (89%) were Hispanic infants. Eight fatalities were infants <2 months of age at time of disease onset and had not received any doses of pertussis-containing vaccine and the remainder was an ex-28 week preemie that was 2 months of age and had received the first dose of DTaP only 15 days prior to disease onset.

Rates are highest in infants <6 months of age (261.3 cases/100,000), in children aged 7-9 years (40.2 cases/100,000) and adolescents aged 10-18 years (30.1 cases/100,000)

A 5-week-old baby has succumbed to whooping cough, this time in Adelaide, Australia. The baby was admitted in the hospital on Saturday, September 11, 2010 and died on Tuesday, September 14, 2010. The baby was too young to be vaccinated. South Adelaide has seen a 30+% increase in incidence of whooping cough this year, with a total of 3991 cases reported to date in 2010, compared with 2961 at the same time last year, which had a total of 5250 for the full year.

“Whooping cough can be a very serious illness and babies and young children are the most vulnerable to complications following infection, as tragically demonstrated in this case,” Prof Phillips said.

“Babies under six months of age are not able to complete the required series of vaccinations so they remain especially vulnerable to whooping cough.”

The 9th casualty of the whooping cough outbreak in California has been, yet another infant under 2 months of age. Not much is known at this time, except that the infant lived in San Bernardino County and was less than 2 months old. That makes it extremely likely that the child had not yet received the first dose of the pertussis vaccine, making this case yet another unfortunate case of a vaccine preventable death. With this death, this year has become deadlier than 2005, the last big outbreak in California, as far as whooping cough deaths are concerned.

“This sad case reminds us that the best way to prevent pertussis is to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Maxwell Ohikhuare, San Bernardino County’s health officer, in statement released late last week. “Immunity from pertussis vaccine or disease wears off, so most adults are susceptible to pertussis and should get immunized to protect themselves and their families.”